Try: Mental subtraction of positive events

Time required

15 minutes

How to do it

1. Take a moment to think about a positive event in your life, such as an educational or career achievement, a celebration, or a special trip you took.  
2. Think back to the time of this event and the circumstances that made it possible.
3. Consider the ways in which this event may never have happened. 
4. Write down all of the possible events and decisions, large and small, that could have gone differently and prevented this event from occurring.
5. Imagine what your life would be like now if you hadn’t enjoyed this positive event and all the fruits that flowed from it.
6. Shift your focus to remind yourself that this event actually did happen and reflect upon the benefits it has brought you. Now that you have considered how things might have turned out differently, appreciate that these benefits were not inevitable in your life. Allow yourself to feel grateful that things happened as they did. 

Why you should try it

It’s easy to take the good things in life for granted, but research suggests that the more we stop to appreciate what we have, the happier and healthier we are. This exercise is designed to help you increase feelings of gratitude for positive events in your life by visualising what your life would be like without them. By getting a taste of their absence, you should be able to appreciate their presence in your life more deeply – without actually having to lose them for real.

Mental subtraction counteracts our tendency to take positive events in our lives as givens. When we consider the circumstances that led to an event, we may be surprised by how unlikely that event actually was, and how lucky we were that it happened as it did. While it can be painful to think about not having experienced an important positive event, this scenario provides a negative contrast against which our current situation can be favorably compared.